Cash In On Home Repair Business

Hello again,

Here we are already into the second month of the new year. Time is flying by. So where are you with your handyman business? Have you started it yet? Have you sat down and written out your plan for the year? Do you want to make your goals this year, or will you be like most other people: they make resolutions but then do not follow through?

It takes a lot of commitment to stay focus on what you want to accomplish. Most people will give up at the first obstacle that hits them. Will you be different? Will you be one of the few people that wants to make a change and actually does it?

Think about this.

Until next time.

Hello again,

This will be a short post. In case you did not hear Congress passed a bill extending tax credits for home buyers. How does this help people who are starting a handyman business? People selling will want to fix little things to make the home more appealing. Buyers may want to make changes after they buy. Get out there and let your community know you can help.

Here is a link to an article that explains the tax credit a little more. http://www.builderonline.com/legislation/breaking-news-congress-extends-expands-housing-tax-credit.aspx?cid=BLDR091105002

I hope this helps. Until next time.

Hello again,

Today I would like to chat about getting more customers by promoting going "green". When you start your handyman business keeping busy in the winter months can be a challenge. I have given some ideas in the past about ways to get customers in the winter. Today I want to expand into the green area.

I am sure most of you have heard about the stimulus package that Congress passed earlier this year. Inside that stimulus was money for homeowners to make upgrades to their home (and businesses) to make them more energy efficient.

So how can a small business owner get a piece of this money. One program is for homeowners who want to upgrade doors, windows, appliances and insulation. The homeowner will receive a rebate if they replace their old with new more energy efficient items. This is where you come in. If you offer or can get into doing some of this work then you have a way to keep busy all year long.

Start by educating your self on what is available in your state and the rules that apply. Then go out an educate your customers. Here is a link to some information that can get you started

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=tax_credits.tx_index

This is only a start, you will need to be sure you understand the ins and outs of the program to be sure your customers receive their rebates.

I hope this helps. Until next time.

Hello,

Yesterday I wrote about why using verbal contracts when you start your handyman business is not a very good idea. Today lets talk about why using a written contract is a good idea and some things that I think should be included. Remember, I am not an attorney and I am not giving out legal advise. I am just giving examples of what we did, you should talk with your own legal adviser about your specific needs.

When a customer would contact us and ask us for a price to install something, I would sometimes give them a ball park figure over the phone. I would preference it with the fact that this figure was on a guess and we could not give a firm price until we check out the job. Even small jobs like replacing a light fixture or ceiling fan can turn into problems and you do not want to commit until you actually see what you will be facing.

So after we would go out and look at the job, then we would either give them a written estimate on the spot, if it was something fairly simple or we would have to mail them the estimate if it was more complicated. Either way, we also put our price and terms in writing. If the customer wanted the job done while we were there, we would still make out a written estimate and have them sign it before we would begin work.

Our estimates would include things like, price for labor, if any material was needed beyond the normal stuff, and a disclaimer that if we run into any hidden problems that there maybe additional charges.

Why did we have a disclaimer for hidden problems? Even for simple jobs like replacing a light fixture, until you actually remove the fixture you can not be 100% sure that there is not a hidden problem and the job will take longer than you first thought.

Our estimates were not complicated and I created them on my computer using Quick Books. The guys also had some generic forms that they could use in the field. These forms were purchased from an office supply store and were in duplicates. One went to the customer and one was our copy. The customer had to sign the form before we started work. If I mailed them an estimate I would state that by scheduling the job the customer agrees to the terms of the estimate.

My estimates also included a sentence about payment. I did very little billing. Most jobs were paid the same day we did the job. Exceptions to this would be if we were doing a large job, like finishing a basement, then payment would be in stages.

Depending on the type of jobs you do a simple estimate made on your computer or by hand at the job site may work just fine for you. If you are doing more complicated work, like additions to homes, then you will probably need a more formal, in-depth contract.

I hope this helps. Until next time.

Hello again,

Today I would like to chat about contracts. Not an exciting subject, however, when you start a handyman business you will need to decide how you will handle giving people estimates. Will you use verbal agreements or more formal contracts?

I am not a lawyer and I am not giving you advise, however it has been our experience that going by a verbal agreement, no matter who the customer is, is not a good idea. Even if the job is small, doing work by verbal agreement can lead to big head aches. It only took one bad experience going on verbal agreement with a friend to realize not matter what, always put the main points of your job in writing. Even if it was a small job I always made sure that I would send a written agreement to the customer.

The problem with verbal agreements is that people have short memories. And if there is a problem with the job, that will really lead to head aches. Also if the job really got out of hand and one party wanted to take the other party to court, without something in writing it would be very hard to prove anything.

While you may not need a long, formal contract, you do need something. How much detail should you include? We will discuss this issue in the next post.

Until next time.

Hello again,

For most of us in the country, the weather is turning colder, the days are getting shorter, and old man winter is creepy in. What does this have to do with your business? When you start a handyman business your keeping busy in the winter can be a challenged. So what can you do to keep the phone ringing?

In my last post I wrote about a possible service you could subscribe to as one way to possible obtain business. But that will cost you money and you are placing your leads into someone else’s hand.

My suggestion is to take a look at what service you are currently offering and see what you can add that would give you business in the winter time.

For instance, if in your area people have fireplaces, cleaning chimneys is something you can look into offering. Also hanging Christmas lights might be a service people are willing to hire out. Water heaters repairs/replacements always seem to pick up for us.

Water heaters will tend to go out more in the winter than in the summer. When the temperature drops outside the water coming into homes will be colder and can cause a water heater to stop working properly. Electric water heaters are easier to learn how to fix than gas water heaters. In an electric water heater the main part is the element, and that is what heats the water. We would charge around $65.00 plus material to replace an element.

If the water heater needed to be replace our charge was $225.00 plus material to replace an electric water heater. Gas water heaters were more.

Some municipalities may require a permit to replace a water heater, so if this is a service you are considering, make sure you find out what the requirements are in your area.

You could also offer to do a winter check of someone home. This is where you would go into a home and make suggestions about what the owner can do to help reduce energy cost and possible catch a potential problem before it becomes a big problem. You could charge a nominal fee for doing this, with the hopes of getting some work.

You could also offer a package, where for a certain price you will come out and do things like, clean clothes dryer’s vents, clean drain hole and pain on refrigerators, caulk around windows, doors, sinks, tubs, showers. Clean exhaust fans and range hood fans blades, making sure they are working properly. Check the attic vents to make sure they are fine. Leaf blowing is also something people need to do.

I bet if you walk through your own home and make a list of things that need to be completed, you can find many ideas for jobs that you can do that will not cost you much to offer, but may add nicely to your bottom line, and help keep you busy this winter.

Until next time.

Hello again,

Yesterday I received an email from a company called ServicMagic.com. Some of you might be familiar with this business. When you start a handyman business getting established in the community can take some time. This company may be a way to receive referrals to potential customers that you might not have had access to.

First, I do not have any kind of relationship with Service Magic. Several years ago we did sign up for their service to obtain leads, used it for a couple of months, and then dropped it.

What they do is they have a list of people who offer handyman services, or does some type of home repair, including landscapers, inspectors, painters, movers etc. When a potential customers goes to their website and answers a few questions about what the customer is looking to have completed, Service Magic will contact someone in the customers area that provides the service, give the company the customers information, then it’s up to you to follow up with the customer.

The service is free (I do believe) to potential customers, however the people receiving the leads are charged a monthly fee, based on which level they choose to belong to.

Like I said earlier, we did subscribe to their service and we did receive leads. Most of the leads were tire kickers, people thinking about doing some work; however these tire kickers if approached correctly can become good customers. I will admit we did not spend the time to really try and convert these people into customers. This was an error on our part. We were pretty busy at the time and made the mistake of not following up properly. Learn from our mistake.

Service Magic also offers helpful tips for business owners to help them get customers.

Since we have not used them for quite some time, I am not endorsing or saying not to try the company. When you start a handyman business, getting customers can be a challenged and this might be a way to generate more leads. You will have to decide if the cost and the leads you receive are worth your money and time.

Until next time.

Hello all,

We have gone through the basics of starting a handyman business. The final step would be to start thinking about how you will exit your handyman business. What, wait a minute, we just started our business why would someone already be thinking about exiting the business?

The reason is this, you probably do not want to work forever. At some point in time, whether by choice or not, you will want to stop working. If you start planning for that day sooner, rather than later, you will not be forced to make rash decisions.

How does someone exit their own business? You can sell the business to someone else, or you can just close the doors. Do not make the assumption that because you are a service business you have nothing to sell. Yes you will have tools and maybe a work vehicle that you can sell. You also have your customer list, and that list is a gold mine for a new owner.

When you start, keep you end goal in mind. How do you want to exit from your handyman business?

Until next time.

Hello all,

OK so we have our business up and running and you are getting customers. Now what? When you start a handyman business you need to be thinking a couple of steps ahead. What I mean by this is you need to decide where you want to take your business. You need a plan.

In a perfect world everyone who starts a business will write a business plan before they start their business. However, lets face it, most people who want to start a handyman business want to get it up and running quickly. Since this is a relatively easy business to start, many people will not plan for the future. Do not make that mistake.

Once you have started to get customers and bring in some money, you need to really do some thinking about what direction do you want to take your business. You need to have an advertising budget, you need to have a cash flow plan. In its simplest form this is making sure you have enough cash on hand to get through the slow times. Other items you need to consider, will you expand the work you do? Will you hire employees?

All of this should be written down, even if all you do is hand write it, so that you have some idea of what you want to do. You do not want to get into a bind then have to make important decisions like these.

There are a lot of books written about business plans and you can find many at your local library. I suggest that you pick up a couple and go through them. They will give you some good ideas on what you need to included in your plan.

However, do not let this important step go to long without getting it completed. Your business survival depends on how well you plan for the future.

Until next time.

Hello again,

Well we have covered a lot of ground in our first 4 steps. Hopefully you have completed them all and are ready for the next step, getting customers. When you start a handyman business you will need customers. (Of course.) How do you go about finding customers?

There are a lot of free ways to generate customers. You can start with your family, friends and co-workers. Ask your neighbors. Make sure you have business cards and pass them out. Put up flyer's around town. Join your local area Chamber of Commerce. Get in touch with real estate agents and see if they ever need someone to help fix up homes that are being listed or just sold.

The best way to obtain customers is through referrals or word of mouth. People telling others about your business is the best way to obtain customers. If you give great service, getting people to refer business to you should not be to difficult.

If you put your thinking cap on, I am sure you can come up with a lot of different ways to generate leads for your handyman business.

Until next time.